UHPSI regular Catherine Kuhn recently took one of the top prizes at the 2015 Master’s Student Research Colloquium held at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. She presented the results of a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model of the Clear Creek Watershed in North-central Wyoming. This work, begun by former UHPSI team member Ambika Khadka, is being brought to completion and will soon be available as an informational booklet. Catherine discussed basic water cycling processes as well as the results of scenario modeling. Scenario modeling provides a way to modify landscape characteristics and estimate the effects on the water cycle with the hope of targeting best management practices that maximize the positive changes on the land and in the communities. Where the Mountain West has historically been a water-restricted landscape, scenario modeling is an important tool for future planning.
Catherine Kuhn (far right) stands with peers following presentations at the Yale FS 2015 Master’s Colloqium
An example graphic from the upcoming booklet summarizing Soil and Water Assessment Tool model findings.